Development and Validation Roadmap for <i>In Situ</i> Structural Health Monitoring of ADF Aircraft

Abstract

In recent times there has been concerted pressure on military organisations worldwide to push for significant reductions in through-life support costs while maintaining and improving aircraft availability and safety. These goals, which on the surface may appear contradictory, can be achieved through the introduction of Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) systems. The paper describes the Australian Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO) roadmap for SHM system development, validation, certification and implementation, in the context of technologies and systems that meet Australian Defence Force (ADF) future requirements. The current approach focuses on wide-area damage detection SHM systems using acousto-ultrasonic techniques.